The Unlikely Botanist
by Darth-Taisha
Summary: Set during the time period immediately following the Uchiha massacre. An old man helps Itachi learn lessons from nature that he never noticed before. Non-pairing/friendship.
1. Chapter 1

**The Unlikely Botanist**

**Disclaimer:** Not mine, it all belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

**Summary:** The days and events directly following the massacre of his clan before Itachi joined Akatsuki. I know there is some debate surrounding his age at the time, but I am going to go with he was 13 at the time.

**~Chapter 1~**

The gruesome task was done.

With his own hand and a little help from another traitorous Uchiha, the once mighty Clan of Sharingan users were no more. And for the moment, war was adverted and peace preserved.

Darkness fell like a murky shroud concealing a dead body, providing a jaded cover for him as he made his so-called escape out of Konoha. The beloved village had been his home for all of his life, but he was no longer welcome there. Its precious gates would forever be closed to him, because he was now an outlaw, a traitor, a murderer.

As though to accentuate the bitter point even further, the village gates shut for the night behind him with a loud and final clang.

All around him he felt many sets of all-seeing Root eyes observing his shameful departure, yet none of them moved to stop him. Officially, they had their orders from on high and no one was to see or report a thing. It would be as though, Itachi Uchiha, murderer of his own clan, traitor, had simply vanished into thin air, like a phantom - a brilliant shinobi passing from the sunlight into the dark underworld of criminals and shadows, never to be spoken of again.

Yet unofficially, his plodding steps were tortuously heavy and slow, reflecting a young man weighted down with an unspeakable sorrow and gut-wrenching agony. His alabaster face was carved like one of the stone Hokage faces above the village of Konoha, except his was splattered indiscriminately with the blood of his clan, his family.

Still, he didn't consider himself to be a victim in this horrific event, merely a political pawn, stuck in the middle of scheming, political old men and a tainted clan - intolerant of change, intent on disemboweling itself with hate.

No, he wasn't a victim, nor was he idealistic enough to think his actions solved anything truly meaningful with long-term consequences. Because from early on he knew that life was rarely fair in this world and the corrupt will always find a way to achieve power. Growing up in a power-hungry clan such as his had taught him that lesson well.

The moment he had learned that manipulative old geezer, Danzo had stolen Shisui's eye, he had known what he had to do. The hopeful conclusion to the Hokage's negations with his family was doomed to failure.

In the end he did what he felt was necessary and he did it all for one person. Someone he couldn't think about right now without vomiting, dry, painful heaves.

Continuing to trudge his path to nowhere, he knew it would be a long time before he would be able to even mention the name of…his little brother. The one he had sworn to always protect.

* * *

Hours later, Itachi's unconscious, atrophic journey ended at a creek bed, the deep, rushing waters forcing him to stop. He had reached his physical limit many miles since, but had been unwilling to stop the cathartic motion of moving.

A stray splash of water hit his face and woke him out of the fog of war he had been under causing him to stumble. Lifting up his eyes slowly and painfully toward the sky, he saw the moon for the first time tonight. Full of light and beautiful, it mocked him with its brightness, reminding him of the power of the Tsukuyomi he had used against…Sas…no, he couldn't say his name.

A tear leaked out of his eye and he automatically dashed it away. He noticed it then in the light of the moon, his hands were splattered with dried blood. In fact, it was all over him, sticky, cruelly censorious…

His hands began to tremble uncontrollably; he fell to his knees, desperate to get it off. A groan like a wounded animal escaped his mouth as he flung himself into the water and began clawing at the blood-stained armor and snapping it off with uncoordinated fingers. His blood-encrusted shirt was also ripped off and thrust away, dead eyes watched it float aimlessly down the stream.

Leaning back in the frigid water he dunked his head under for several seconds scrubbing his head with hard fingers before coming up spluttering, his chest felt like it was caving in. The cool water had not been soothing to his bloodshot eyes, instead it had only irritated them more, making them feel like they were covered with sand and had been lit on fire.

The last thing he remembered before darkness overwhelmed him was picking up a rough coated rock and rubbing it over his skin and thinking water alone was not enough to remove the blood. As he scrubbed his skin raw, he knew it wasn't working. Nothing was ever going to remove it.

**Author's Note:** I have had this story in my head for a long time. I have always wondered what Itachi did immediately following the massacre. It could have been many days before he actually joined up with Akatsuki. Anyway, Itachi is the one character I always come back to in Naruto when my love for the series starts to grow cold. Without giving any details away, I plan to make this short, probably only 3-5 chapters.


	2. Chapter 2

**~Chapter 2~**

* * *

It was nearly morning when he finally located him. Word from Konoha had come last night to be on the lookout for the young Uchiha and he had been searching the area non-stop ever since then.

Relief flooded through him in vast amounts after spotting the pale ninja lying in the mud and gravel along the creek. With the sound of the water rushing in the background, the fading moonlight cast an eerie shadow over the young man's face making him appear almost child-like and vulnerable.

As the old man gathered up the limp and shivering body in his weather-beaten, yet still strong hands, he could see no trace of the cold-blooded killer he was reported to be, only a teen-aged boy.

_One that was left alone, discarded like he was trash. Now that he'd done Konoha's dirty work, he was considered to be expendable._

Moved by the painful sight, a tear slid down his wrinkled face as he felt anger burn through him at the thought of placing such a despicable burden on one so young. It sickened him that the ninja world used children to fight in wars and get involved in politics.

Long ago, when he was young he used to be a Leaf shinobi, but over time he couldn't reconcile his conscience to Root and the organizations ever growing influence over village politics. From early on he had grown to dislike Danzo's hawkish military tendencies and the shady methods he employed to keep the village safe. After leaving Konoha he found there were other ways to serve his village than being a ninja.

Shifting the young man more comfortably in his arms, he took one last look around and was about to leave when out of the corner of his eye he saw a headband lying partially buried in the slimy mud.

Reaching down with slow and careful movements, he picked up the filthy badge of honor with the symbol of the Leaf on it and clenched it hard in his fist before shoving it away in his pocket.

A feeling of weariness passed over him as the events of the evening began to catch up to him, forcing him to admit to himself he wasn't as young as he used to be. He took a long fortifying breath before he began his long trek home.

* * *

Faces flashed before his eyes…uncles, cousins…neighbors…parents. One by one, they all had something in common, they all had blood dripping down their faces and they were all looking at him with the same expression.

Shocked betrayal.

Unshed tears began to form behind his eyes and his throat began to tighten as he sought to control the overwhelming sense of grief and guilt. A shuddering spasm of shame rocked his body.

Then, his little brother's sad face appeared before him and a hellish fear began to grip his heart and squeeze until he couldn't breathe.

_Sasuke was all alone…unprotected. He had no one to watch over him and keep him safe! _

In a blind panic, his hands gripped the side of the bed so tight his knuckles turned white due to the stress. Itachi's guts began to twist in desperation.

He had to go help him, Sasuke was probably afraid…he had never been left alone before!

"_SASUKE!" _Itachi screamed out in a hoarse voice.

He had to leave now - he had to help him, but he couldn't see. Heavy bandages covered his eyes and something was holding him down, pinning him to the bed, keeping him from his little brother.

"NO! Let me up, I have to go…" Itachi mumbled incoherently as he tried to sit up again. Strong arms pushed him down on the bed again.

Itachi fought back, raw desperation giving him strength and his hand coiled around an unknown throat and began to squeeze. "Take me to my brother now," he demanded, his words laced with a deadly menace.

"Sasuke is fine," he heard a calm voice choke out through the fog of fear and panic. "Your brother is safe, I promise you."

Fears somewhat mollified by the absolute sincerity he heard in the man's words, Itachi stopped struggling and slowly he removed his death grip from around the man's throat and lowered his hands to his side. Lucidity was gradually returning to him.

"Who are you?" He asked while trying to figure out where he was. His weak and chakra deprived body coiled and tensed for a fight. He had been taught practically from the cradle to never let his guard down.

Reaching out cautiously, the old man placed his hand on the young man's shoulder. "I am Hiroshi Sarutobi…the Hokage's younger brother."

Itachi went completely still when he heard the name, and somewhere in the inner recesses of his mind he remembered the Hokage's promise to him to watch over Sasuke and protect him. He winced after he felt something pinch his skin around his hip area.

"I gave you a sedative to help you rest," Hiroshi stated quietly while setting the empty syringe down on a bedside table.

Itachi released a long worn-out breath, now that his fears about his little brother's safety were diminished he settled down wearily under the warm covers. After the tension began to leave his body, he started to feel so weighed down with exhaustion he couldn't move anything even if he wanted to.

"Rest now, young one," Hiroshi said as he laid his wrinkled hand over the sleeping ninja's shoulder. "Your brother is safe…and so are you," he said softly while taking out the small communication his brother had sent him earlier on a special carrier pigeon. Unrolling the note his eyes scanned over it again for the second time since it arrived.

_Brother,_

_ I need your assistance in a grave matter. I need you to search for a young man, Itachi Uchiha and watch over him. The event I have feared for some time has come to pass and you know of his role in all of it. My reach as Hokage is long-reaching and vast, but not long enough to help him now, I am sorry to say. Please be an extension of my support to him during this time, he is undeniably precious to me and his value to Konoha is immeasurable._

_Hiruzen_

Walking toward the fireplace, Hiroshi threw the highly classified note in the flames and watched it burn. He knew the protocol for S-ranked missions, nothing about tonight's events must ever see the light of day.

**Author's Note:** Thanks to everyone who took the time to leave me reviews, I appreciate all of you very much. Please keep the feedback coming and I will try to post another chapter ASAP. I also have about 3/4ths of a chapter completed for Kismet and I hope to post it very soon. Thanks:)


End file.
